JPH07122826B2 - Optically guided vehicle guidance equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention provides a line for guiding a moving vehicle along the traveling route in a state where the traveling route of the moving vehicle is displayed in color, and An optical sensor that is provided on the moving vehicle side to identify the color of the moving vehicle and detects it, and that has steering control means for automatically traveling the moving vehicle along the line based on the detection information of the optical sensor. The present invention relates to guidance equipment for guided vehicles.

[Conventional technology]

In the guide equipment for an optical guided vehicle of this type, conventionally, for example, a resin tape or a metal thin film colored in white so as to reflect light well is attached to the traveling road surface or the traveling road surface. By coating a bright color such as white with a predetermined width to form a line for guiding a moving vehicle, and an optical sensor on the moving vehicle side receives light reflected from a traveling road surface including the line, Then, based on the brightness of the received light, the line and the line installation surface such as the traveling road surface are identified.

However, in the above technique, the line is detected based on the brightness of the light received by the optical sensor. Therefore, for example, the road surface on which the moving vehicle travels is glossy or the road surface color is white. In the case of a bright color such as a close color, the contrast between the road surface and the line is low, and the difference in the amount of reflected light from both the line installation surface and the line, such as the road surface, is small. However, there is a possibility that the optical sensor may easily malfunction. Also, with the use of equipment,
If the guide line becomes dirty or worn, the amount of light reflected from this line will decrease, so the long-term reliability of the equipment was not sufficient with a configuration that detects the line based only on the light and shade of the light received by the optical sensor. .

Therefore, as described above, the line is not detected based on the light and shade of the light received by the optical sensor, but the running road surface and the guiding line are formed in different colors, and the optical sensor detects the running road surface and the guiding line. Configured so that the characteristics when detecting each differ, that is, so that the color of the guide line can be identified with respect to the traveling road surface, and a plurality of optical sensors are arranged in the lateral direction of the vehicle body The steering position of the vehicle body with respect to the guide line is discriminated by the position of the optical sensor that has detected (for example, JP-A-61-131008).
(See the official gazette).

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, in the above-described conventional line detection technology, in order to accurately determine the vehicle body steering position with respect to the guidance line, it is necessary to arrange a large number of optical sensors in a high density in the lateral direction of the vehicle body. There has been a problem that the control configuration of a processing circuit or the like for processing the output signal from the sensor is complicated, and that signal processing requires time, so that the steering position of the vehicle body cannot be quickly determined.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to accurately determine a vehicle body steering position with respect to a guidance line while distinguishing the colors of the guidance line and a traveling road surface by an optical sensor. In this case, it is to solve the problems of the conventional technology such as the control configuration of the processing circuit for processing the output information of the optical sensor becomes complicated, and the determination processing cannot be performed quickly.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In the characteristic configuration of the guiding equipment of the optical guiding type mobile vehicle according to the present invention, the optical sensor divides four pieces of light receiving information into three primary color signals and outputs them. At a predetermined interval in the lateral direction of the vehicle body so that the two inner sides are located on both left and right edges of the line and the two outer sides are located outside the end edges of the line. The steering control means is arranged side by side, and the color received by the color sensor on the inner side is the color selected as a color to be identified for the line and the color received by the color sensor on the outer side is the color. A state that is not a color selected as a color to be identified for the line is detected as a proper steering state along at least one of the left and right edges of the line, and the proper steering state is maintained while maintaining the proper steering state. Run along the line It is configured as described above, and its action and effect are as follows.

[Action]

That is, a line for guiding a moving vehicle is formed in a color different from that of the line installation surface which is the background, for example, to display the traveling route of the moving vehicle on the other hand, while on the moving vehicle side, the two inside are From the four color sensors arranged on the left and right edges of the line and arranged at a predetermined interval in the lateral direction of the vehicle body so that the two outer sides are located outside the edge of the line, Light reception information is output separately for the three primary color signals. In the light reception information of each color sensor, the color received by the two color sensors on the inner side is the color selected as the color to be identified for the line, and the two color sensors on the outer side receive the light. The state in which the selected color is not the color selected as the color to be identified for the line is detected as a proper steering state along both left and right edges of the line, and the moving vehicle is maintained while maintaining the proper steering state. The steering is controlled so that the vehicle automatically runs along the guidance line, and the color received by the color sensor on the inner side of either the left or right side is the color selected as the color to be identified on the line and that one side thereof. The state in which the color received by the color sensor on the outer side of the line is not the color selected as the color to be identified for the line is detected as the proper steering state along the one edge of the line, and the proper operation is detected. We are in good condition Is the steering control so that the automatic travel movement vehicle along the guiding lines and.

〔The invention's effect〕

Therefore, the steering state of the vehicle body with respect to at least one of the left and right edges of the guide line is accurately discriminated by the minimum required number of four color sensors arranged in the lateral direction of the vehicle body, and the appropriateness is determined. Since the steering control is performed so as to maintain the steering state, it is not necessary to arrange a large number of optical sensors finely in the lateral direction of the vehicle body as in the conventional case, and as a result, a processing circuit for processing the output information of each optical sensor, etc. The control structure can be simplified and the determination process can be speeded up.

〔Example〕

 Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 3, the line (L) for guiding the moving vehicle is
It is installed along the travel route of the moving vehicle (A) with the intersection (CR), and the moving vehicle (A) is instructed about the branch start point, the merge start point, or the stop position at the intersection (CR). A mark (m) for doing so is provided on the road surface beside the line (L). In addition, a load transfer station (ST) is provided on the lateral side of the travel route, and at the intersection (CR) with respect to the moving vehicle (A), it is stopped at the branching / merging direction or next. A ground side communication device (1a) for instructing various command information of a station (ST) or the like from a central control unit (MC) is provided in the station (ST).

Explaining the structure of the line (L), a line (L) for guiding a moving vehicle is formed by coating a part of the traveling road surface to a predetermined width with a paint having a color different from that of the traveling road surface. .

Explaining the structure of the moving vehicle (A), as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, it serves as a steering wheel which is rotatably supported by a steering motor (4) on the front side of the vehicle body. The propulsion wheel (2) is provided so that it can be driven and stopped freely by the traveling motor (3), and a pair of left and right driven wheels (5) and (5) are provided on the rear side of the vehicle body. Then, as will be described later in detail, an optical sensor (6) that detects the line (L) based on the color of the received light is integrated with the propulsion wheel (2) with the light receiving surface thereof facing downward. The four mark sensors (7) for detecting the mark (m) are arranged so as to be changed in direction, and are distributed to the left and right and front and rear in a state where the detection action surface of each mark sensor (7) faces the road surface side. It is arranged and provided under the vehicle body.

The mark sensor (7),
Similar to the optical sensor (6), the mark (m) is identified based on the color of the received light.

Further, a vehicle body side communication device (1b) for the ground side communication device (1a) is provided at a lateral side portion of the vehicle body where the station (ST) is located, and detection information from the sensors (6) and (7) is provided. Further, there is provided a control device (8) also serving as steering control means for discriminating the information instructed through the communication devices (1a), (1b) and controlling the traveling of the mobile vehicle (A). In FIG. 2, (9) is a drive device for the traveling motor (3), and (10) is a drive device for the steering motor (4).

Explaining the configuration of the optical sensor (6), as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a state in which the center of the optical sensor (6) in the width direction is located on the center of the line (L). It is attached so that Then, four color sensors (S) that output the received color information as three color signals of red, green, and blue, which form the three primary colors of colored light,
The inner two (S ₂ ) and (S ₃ ) are located on the left and right edges of the line (L), and the outer two (S ₁ ) and (S ₄ ) are the line (L). A light projector (11) for illuminating the line (L) while arranging the light from the center of the vehicle body to the left and right at predetermined intervals so as to be positioned outside the edge.
Is provided.

That is, in a state where the center of the vehicle body width direction is located above the center of the line (L), the two inner color sensors (S ₂ ) and (S ₃ ) detect the reflected light from the line (L). Two color sensors (S ₁ ) and (S ₄ ) that receive light and are outside
Is adapted to receive the reflected light from the road surface. Therefore, as the vehicle body is deviated to the left or right with respect to the line (L), one of the two color sensors (S ₁ ) and (S ₄ ) arranged outside is reflected from the line (L). The light is received to detect that the vehicle body has deviated from the line (L).

The structure of the means for detecting the line (L) based on the detection signal of the color sensor (S) will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the detection signal of each color sensor (S) is classified by color. An amplifier (12) for amplifying, and A for A / D converting the output voltage for each color from the amplifier (12)
/ D converter (13) and, based on the voltage level for each color output from the A / D converter (13), the color of the light received by the color sensor (S), red, green, And a color discriminating device (1) that outputs three color signals (R), (G), and (B) for discriminating which of the three colors is blue.
4) is provided.

To explain the operation of the color discrimination device (14),
For example, based on the sum of the levels of the three signals of red, green and blue corresponding to the three primary colors of light from the color sensor (S) input via the A / D converter (13), By calculating the average amount of light received by the color sensor (S) and determining the color of the light received by the color sensor (S) based on the ratio of the levels of the three signals to the average amount of light received. The color can be discriminated without being affected by the variation in the amount of light received by the color sensor (S).

Explaining the mark sensor (7), two color sensors (S) having the same structure as the optical sensor (6) are arranged on the left and right sides of the line (L) at predetermined intervals in the vehicle body front-rear direction. (M) consisting of a pair of mark pieces that are arranged on the road surface side and are arranged as a pair.
Each color of each color is detected, and based on the detected color combination, various running such as branch / merge start position at intersection, stop position at station (ST), deceleration start point and its end point, etc. The control information is discriminated.

Next, the configuration of the steering control means for controlling the operation of the steering motor (4) for steering based on the information detected by the optical sensor (6) having the above configuration will be described.

For example, when the case where the color of the line (L) is colored red is explained as an example, the color signals (R), (G), (B) of the three colors output from the above-mentioned color discrimination device (14). Based on whether or not the color signal (R) corresponding to the red color is output, that is, whether or not the color received by the color sensor (S) is the red color selected as the color to be identified, four color sensors _{(S 1) ~ (S 4} ) respectively, it is determined whether the detection state of the line (L), and, of these four color sensors _{(S 1) ~ (S 4} ) Based on the combination of the line detection states, it is determined whether or not the vehicle body is in a state along the line (L), and when the moving vehicle (A) goes straight along the line (L), the vehicle body is two color sensors located inside (S _2), the (S ₃₎ to maintain a state of detecting a red against Sea urchin, said a steering motor (4) forward and reverse rotation and stopping operations is to steering.

However, when the moving vehicle (A) branches or merges at the intersection (CR), the mark sensor (7) merges.
Upon detecting the mark (m) indicating the start point of branching, one of the four color sensors (S ₁ ) to (S ₄ ) on the left or right side corresponding to the commanded branching / merging direction. Based on the information detected by the two ones, the steering is controlled so that the vehicle runs along one of the left and right edges of the line (L), and the intersection (CR) is passed.

That is, when the mark sensor (7) reads the mark (m) provided on the front side of the intersection (CR) as it approaches the intersection (CR), it corresponds to the instructed branching direction or merging direction. Then, the detection information from the two color sensors on either the left side or the right side is used. Then, only the color sensor (S ₂ or S ₃ ) located inside the vehicle body maintains the line detection state, and the color sensor located outside (S ₁ or S ₄ ) maintains the line non-detection state.
The steering is controlled.

Then, the moving vehicle (A) is instructed at the intersection (CR) based on the information detected by the mark sensor (7) and the information instructed via the communication devices (1a), (1b). While automatically branching and merging along the traveling route, the line (L) is discriminated based on the color detected by the optical sensor (6), and the vehicle is steered to automatically travel along the line (L). By the control, the moving vehicle (A) is automatically run between the stations (ST) to carry various loads.

[Another embodiment]

In the above-described embodiment, in the optical sensor (6), four color sensors (S) are arranged side by side in the lateral direction of the vehicle body, and a line (L) of the colors detected by these four color sensors (S) is provided. Although the case where the steering control is configured based on the presence or absence of the color information corresponding to the color is illustrated, for example, the optical sensor (6) is replaced by the line (of the four color sensors (S) ( It is also possible to perform steering control using only two color sensors located above L).

That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the line (L) is illuminated by the projector (11) as in the first embodiment, and
A pair of left and right color sensors (S), (S) located above the left and right edges of the illuminated line (L) are provided, and the detection signals of these color sensors (S), (S) are the same as above. The color signals (R), (G), (B) which are amplified to a predetermined level by the amplifier (12) having the above structure and are output for each color.
1 corresponding to the color of the line (L) (for example, red)
The color signals of the same color of the set are selected by the switch (13), the difference between the selected color signals of the same color is calculated by the differential amplifier (14), and the differential amplifier (14) is operated. The operation is controlled by controlling the operation of the steering motor (4) so that the difference between the same color signals calculated by the above is maintained within the set range.

That is, since the steering control is performed so that the difference between the detection signals of the same color by the pair of left and right color sensors (S), (S) is maintained within the set range, the variation in the amount of light received by the color sensor (S) Therefore, it is possible to prevent the influence, and thus to make the device configuration simple and to prevent malfunction due to the change in the brightness and the change in the width of the line (L).

Therefore, even if the line (L) is slightly soiled or its width is changed due to wear or the like due to the use of the equipment, it is possible to prevent malfunction due to only that.

Further, when the moving vehicle (A) is largely displaced from the line (L) due to the slip of the propulsion wheels (2) or the like, the plurality of color sensors (S) forming the optical sensor (6) are By checking the change in the detected color at predetermined time intervals, the inclination (θ) of the moving vehicle (A) with respect to the line (L) is discriminated, and the propulsion wheel (with the steering amount corresponding to the inclination (θ) is determined. If it is configured to steer 2), the followability to the line (L) can be improved. Therefore, when the traveling speed of the moving vehicle (A) is increased, the steering control is performed. You can improve your sex.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5, an optical sensor (6) is configured by arranging a plurality of the color sensors (S) side by side in the lateral direction of the vehicle body, and at predetermined time intervals, that is, the vehicle body has a set distance (l). Each time the line (L) is moved, the line (L) is changed based on the position change (D ₁ -D ₂ ) of the outermost color sensor in the line detection state with respect to the center of the optical sensor (6).
The inclination (θ) of the moving vehicle (A) with respect to can be determined. However, the number of the color sensors (S) may be set in accordance with the detection accuracy of the inclination (θ) of the moving vehicle (A) with respect to the line (L), and as in the first embodiment, 4 is set. Even when the number of color sensors (S) is used, the inclination (θ) of the moving vehicle (A) with respect to the line (L) can be determined.

In the above embodiment, the line (L) for guiding the moving vehicle is
The case where the traveling road surface is formed by painting it in red with a predetermined width has been described as an example, but it may be painted in another color. And
For example, when displaying in colors other than the above three primary colors, the detected color can be determined based on the ratio of the levels of the color signals of the three colors corresponding to the three primary colors output from the color sensor (S). When all lines (L) have the same color, the optical sensor (6) may be configured as a monochromatic color sensor that detects only the color of the line (L).

Further, when the optical sensor (6) is configured as a color sensor (S) that outputs color signals of three colors corresponding to the above three primary colors, each traveling route where the moving vehicle (A) branches / merges. You may make it possible to distinguish each traveling route by color-coding. Further, the line (L) for guiding the moving vehicle may be configured by arranging colored portions having a short length along the traveling route direction at predetermined intervals. Further, for example, the line is colored in a predetermined color. The line (L) for guiding the moving vehicle may be configured by attaching the tape to the traveling road surface or by attaching the tape to the ceiling side or the wall surface along the traveling route, or the line (L) for guiding the moving vehicle. And a specific configuration of the optical sensor (6) for the same,
In addition, the specific configuration and the like of each part such as the moving vehicle (A) and the travel route can be variously changed according to the facility configuration to which the present invention is applied, and the present invention is limited to the above-mentioned embodiments only. is not.

[Brief description of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of a guidance system for a mobile vehicle according to the present invention,
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an optical sensor, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control system, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an induction facility, and FIG. 4 is a configuration of another embodiment. The block diagram shown in FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of yet another embodiment. (A) ... moving vehicle, (L) ... moving vehicle guiding line,
(6) ... Optical sensor, (S) ... Color sensor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A line (L) for guiding a moving vehicle is provided along the running route of the moving vehicle (A) in a state of displaying the running route of the moving vehicle (A), and the color of the line (L) is identified. An optical sensor (6) for detecting it is provided on the moving vehicle (A) side, and the moving vehicle (A) is moved along the line (L) based on the detection information of the optical sensor (6). In the guidance equipment of an optical guidance type mobile vehicle provided with a steering control means for automatically traveling, the optical sensor (6) divides the received light information into three primary color signals and outputs four color sensors (S). , So that the inner two of them are located on both left and right edges of the line (L) and the outer two are located outside of the end of the line (L). The steering control means is arranged side by side at a predetermined interval in the width direction, and the steering control means is the inner color sensor. The color received by S) is the color selected as the color to be identified by the line (L), and the color received by the color sensor (S) on the outer side is the color by which the line (L) is identified. If it is not the selected color,
Detecting as a proper steering state along at least one of the left and right edges of the line (L), the vehicle is allowed to travel along the line (L) while maintaining the proper steering state. Guided equipment for configured optical guided vehicles.